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MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 


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Revised  and  Enlarged 


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1 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF 
MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 


BY 

Dr.  CAMERON  B.  ROWLINGSON 

Syracuse  University ;  College  of  Osteopathic  Physicians 

and  Surgeons;  Member  of  the  Society 

of  Applied  Psychology. 


SECOND  EDITION 


Revised  and  Enlarged,  with  an  Added  Section  on 
HOW  TO  STUDY  EFFECTIVELY 


UNIVERSITY  PUBLISHING  CO., 

LOS  ANGELES,  CALIFORNIA 


Copyright,  1919,  by 
DR.  C.  B.  ROWLINGSON. 


pK 


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fundamentals  of 
memory  development 


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FOREWORD 

Memory  is  the  foundation  on  which  your 
mental  storehouse  is  built.  A  poor  memory 
is  like  a  foundation  of  sand — shifting,  un- 
reliable, uncertain.  A  good  memory  is  like 
a  foundation  of  rock — secure,  certain,  en- 
during. Successful  men  are  men  with  good 
memories.  The  man  with  an  accurate  and 
dependable  memory  is  the  man  who  is 
marked  for  advancement. 

These  lessons  are  the  result  of  study  and 
research  extending  over  a  period  of  more  than 
four  years.  The  aim  has  been  to  make  the 
course  concise  by  omitting  useless  stunts  and 
other  impractical  material;  at  the  same  time 
to  make  it  complete  by  including  all  of  the 
basic  principles  of  memory  development;  in 
short,  to  make  it  clear,  understandable,  and 
practical,  yet  thoroughly  scientific. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

Microsoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/fundamentalsofmeOOrowlrich 


LESSON  I 

General  Considerations 

It  is  important  at  the  outset  to  understand 
just  what  memory  is  and  what  is  aimed  at 
in  its  development,  for  unless  we  know 
where  we  are  going,  we  shall  be  like  the  man 
in  the  song,  "I  don't  know  where  I'm  going, 
but  I'm  on  my  way." 

A  very  good  definition  of  memory  is  the 
one  given  by  the  Century  Dictionary:  uThe 
mental  capacity  of  retaining  unconscious 
traces  of  conscious  impressions  or  states,  and 
of  recalling  these  traces  to  consciousness  with 
the  attendant  perception  that  they  (or  their 
objects)  have  a  certain  relation  to  the  past." 

Locke's  definition  is  also  good:  "The 
power  to  revive  again  in  our  minds  those 
ideas  which,  after  imprinting,  have  disap- 
peared, or  have  been,  as  it  were,  laid  aside 
out  of  sight,  ...  is  memory."  In  other 
words,  memory  is  the  knowledge  of  a  fact 
or  event  which,  having  disappeared  from 
consciousness,  at  a  later  time  reappears,  to- 
gether with  the  additional  consciousness  that 
we  have  thought  or  experienced  it  before. 

Since  the  quality  and  quantity  of  brain 
tissue  in  a  given  person  remains  practically 
fixed,  it  follows  that  no  system  of  memory 
training  can  enlarge  what  may  be  called  the 


FUNDAMENTALS  QF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

native  retentiveness  6f  the  individual.  The 
advancement  must  come  in  mental  habits  and 
in  methods  of  learning;  these  are  capable  of 
almost  unlimited  improvement.  Many  bad 
memories  are  merely  bad  habits. 

Your  body  is  controlled  by  your  nervous 
system,  comprising  brain,  spinal  cord,  and 
branches  extending  to  every  part  of  the  body. 
It  is  now  an  accepted  principle  in  science  that 
the  brain  may  be  regarded  as  a  storage-bat- 
tery, storing  a  form  of  energy  in  many  re- 
spects like  electricity,  but  which  may  be  called 
nervous  energy.  Every  activity  of  the  body 
requires  energy,  and  this  energy  is  supplied 
from  the  brain  storage-battery.  Not  the 
slightest  activity  of  any  part  of  the  body  can 
take  place  unless  energy  is  sent  to  that  part 
over  the  nerves,  which  may  be  compared  to 
the  wires  going  out  from  a  central  power  sta- 
tion and  carrying  electrical  energy  to  all  parts 
of  a  city.  When  nervous  energy  arrives  at  a 
muscle  it  is  transformed  into  motion — a  pro- 
cess corresponding  to  the  transformation  into 
motion  of  the  electrical  energy  arriving  in  a 
motor  over  the  wires  from  the  power-house. 

Every  purposeful  act  of  life  which  is  re- 
peated at  greater  or  less  intervals  is  a  habit, 
formed  by  the  nervous  current  flowing  re- 
peatedly through  a  certain  series  of  nerve 
wires  and  meeting  with  less  resistance  to  its 
flow  each  time.  The  process  may  be  very 
roughly  illustrated  in  this  way:  if  you  walk 
across  a  freshly  plowed  field,  there  is  consid- 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

erable  resistance  to  your  passage  the  first  time ; 
but  if  you  repeatedly  walk  over  the  same 
course,  a  path  is  soon  formed  which  makes 
walking  easy.  Any  act  of  mind  or  body  which 
you  repeat  from  time  to  time  wears  a  path,  so 
to  speak,  in  your  nervous  system,  and  thus 
forms  a  habit.  It  is  easily  seen  from  this  that 
you  must  have  habits,  whether  you  want  them 
or  not;  you  cannot  escape  them.  Whether  the 
habits  you  have  are  to  be  a  help  to  your  pro- 
gress and  your  achievement,  or  whether  they 
are  to  be  the  reverse,  depends  on  you.  You 
can  make  of  yourself  what  you  will,  by  direct- 
ing your  habit  formation.  Form  habits  of 
remembering,  and  you  will  have  a  good 
memory.  If  you  have  formed  wrong  habits 
and  you  want  to  get  rid  of  them,  you  have  a 
difficult  task;  but  will-power  and  perseverance 
can  accomplish  it.  Form  right  habits  of  study, 
of  work,  of  play,  of  all  the  various  activities 
of  life,  and  you  can  attain  any  goal  within 
reason  that  you  may  set  for  yourself. 

These  lessons  give  you  methods  for  remem- 
bering. The  first  time  you  try  to  apply  any 
particular  method,  you  may  find  it  hard,  for 
you  are  forcing  nerve  currents  over  paths  they 
have  never  traveled  before.  Keep  at  it;  each 
repetition  wears  the  path  smoother  and  makes 
the  method  easier.  Once  the  habit  of  remem- 
bering is  established,  it  becomes  as  easy  as 
not  remembering. 

Our  knowledge  comes  to  us  through  the 
senses.      Each    thing    that    we    learn    ar- 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

rives  in  the  brain  through  one  or  more 
of  these  five  channels,  or  paths:  Seeing, 
hearing,  smelling,  tasting  or  feeling.  Of 
these,  the  first  two  bring  us  the  greater  part 
of  our  intellectual  knowledge. 

Some  persons  remember  best  the  things 
they  see;  such  persons  are  said  to  have  the 
visual  type  of  memory.  Others  remember 
better  the  things  they  hear;  these  are  said 
to  have  good  auditory  memory.  In  some 
persons  the  relative  activity  of  the  two  types 
is  about  even.  In  addition  to  these  types  of 
memory,  there  is  still  another  in  which  the 
mind  retains  its  impressions  best  when  the 
person  either  speaks  aloud  or  writes  the  in- 
formation which  is  to  be  memorized.  This 
is  known  as  the  motor  type  of  memory. 

In  beginning  the  development  of  the  mem- 
ory, you  should  discover  as  soon  as  possible 
whether  your  memory  is  predominantly  visual 
or  auditory.  One  of  the  best  ways  to  go 
about  this  is  to  review  in  your  mind  a  num- 
ber of  facts  which  you  have  acquired  in  the 
past  few  weeks  or  months,  and  in  each  case 
try  to  recall  whether  you  first  acquired  the 
fact  through  your  eyes  or  through  your  ears. 
Given  facts  of  as  nearly  as  possible  the  same 
comparative  importance,  the  method  of  ac- 
quisition which  has  the  greatest  number  of 
facts  to  its  credit,  is  the  one  which  is  best 
developed  in  you. 

Another  method  of  determining  this  point, 
and  one  which  will  give  an  indication  of  the 
10 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

part  played  by  the  motor  memory  in  your 
case,  is  as  follows: 

Have  a  friend  or  member  of  your  family 
make  three  lists,  each  containing  fifteen  un- 
related words,  on  three  separate  sheets  of 
paper.  Read  the  first  list  once  carefully, 
then  without  referring  to  the  paper,  see  how 
many  you  can  repeat.  Have  someone  read 
aloud,  once,  the  second  list,  and  see  how 
many  you  can  remember.  Then  take  the 
third  list,  write  each  word  once,  and  test 
yourself  as  before.  Following  is  a  list  of 
words  which  you  can  use  for  the  last  test : 


city 

native 

automobile 

ocean 

book 

magazine 

hat 

calm 

lawyer 

lion 

chair 

simple 

ship 

excellent 

light 

When  you  have  determined  which  is  your 
predominant  type  of  memory,  that  is  the 
method  you  should  use  most  frequently,  for 
by  so  doing  you  are  making  the  most  of  your 
natural  faculties.  None  of  the  methods, 
however,  should  be  neglected,  and  the  more 
of  them  you  use  for  any  given  fact,  the 
more  certain  you  are  of  remembering  that 
fact. 


11 


LESSON  II 

Impression,  Attention,  Interest 

If  you  will  refer  to  the  definitions  of 
memory  given  at  the  beginning,  you  will 
note  that  in  each  of  them  occurs  the  idea  of 
the  fact  or  event  being  again  in  conscious- 
ness. Many  people  fail  to  remember  because 
they  never  acquire  a  first  impression.  With- 
out a  first  impression,  the  best  memory  in  the 
world  is  helpless.  If  you  are  to  remember  a 
fact,  that  fact  must  previously  haveexisted  in 
your  consciousness  for  a  measurable  period  of 
time :  there  must  have  been  a  first  impression. 
No  system  of  memory  culture  can  give  you  a 
magic  power  of  making  something  out  of 
nothing. 

The  impressions  which  are  best  remem- 
bered are  those  which  are 

( i )  New  or  startling, 

(2)  Most  interesting, 

(3)  Clearest  or  most  vivid, 

(4)  Frequently  repeated, 

(5)  Most  recently  acquired. 

( 1 )   One  of  the  chief  reasons  why  we  re- 
member the  experiences  of  childhood  so  much 
better  than  those  of  our  later  years  is  that 
during  this  period  the  mind   is   fresh   and 
12 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

even    ordinary    facts    and    events    are    sur- 
prising. 

(2)  Most  persons  who  say  they  have 
poor  memories  are  usually  found  to  have 
excellent  memories  for  some  particular  kind 
of  facts — and  it  is  always  for  something  that 
is  of  special  interest  to  them.  A  woman 
may  have  a  very  poor  memory  for  political 
facts,  but  an  excellent  one  for  the  details  of 
a  dress  which  she  admires.  In  the  case  of 
a  man,  this  might  be  reversed.  Some  per- 
sons have  a  good  memory  for  numbers  but  a 
poor  memory  for  words,  and  vice  versa. 
There  are  many  young  office  clerks  whose 
memory  for  business  facts  is  so  poor  that 
they  never  rise  above  mediocrity,  who  never- 
theless exhibit  an  amazing  capacity  for  re- 
taining baseball  scores  and  batting  averages. 
If  these  same  young  men  would  take  a 
corresponding  degree  of  interest  in  their 
work,  and  would  spend  as  much  time  study- 
ing and  thinking  about  it,  advancement  in 
position  and  salary  would  take  care  of  itself. 
To  rise  above  the  other  fellow,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  do  better  work  than  the  other 
fellow. 

(3)  It  is  a  mistake  to  blame  the  memory 
when  the  real  trouble  lies  in  poor  observa- 
tion. Can  you  tell  the  relative  position  of 
the  horns  and  ears  on  a  cow?  Which  way 
does  the  head  face  on  a  two-cent  postage 
stamp?  If  you  cannot  answer  such  questions 
as  these  correctly,  it  is  not  because  you  have 

13 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

not  seen,  but  because  you  have  not  observed 
— because  you  have  not  acquired  an  impres- 
sion. 

The  power  of  observation  can  be  wonder- 
fully developed.  Readers  of  Kipling's  "Kim" 
will  recall  the  amazingly  detailed  description 
by  the  native  Hindu  boy  of  the  fifteen 
precious  stones  which  were  shown  to  him  for 
a  few  minutes  only,  and  then  put  out  of  his 
sight.  You  can  develop  your  power  of  ob- 
servation by  practice.  As  you  walk  along  a 
business  street  where  there  are  stores,  stop  a 
few  minutes  before  some  window  containing 
a  number  of  small  articles.  A  jeweler's  win- 
dow is  good.  Look  over  the  display  care- 
fully, examining  each  object  separately  first, 
then  the  entire  window  as  a  whole.  Then 
pass  on  and  try  to  recall  what  is  in  the 
window. 

Another  excellent  means  of  developing  the 
power  of  observation  is  by  drawing  on  paper 
a  simple  picture  of  some  ordinary  object  such 
as  an  inkstand  or  a  vase.  You  need  not  be 
an  artist  to  do  this  and  the  result  of  your 
effort  may  have  no  artistic  value,  but  that 
does  not  matter.  You  will  probably  be  sur- 
prised at  the  details  you  will  notice  that  you 
had  not  observed  before. 

In  cultivating  the  power  of  observation,  a 
little  practice  repeated  every  day  is  much 
more  effective  than  a  great  effort  followed  by 
a  period  of  inaction.     Set  yourself  a  little 

14 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

daily  task  of  observing  something  carefully, 
picturing  it  in  the  mind  in  all  its  details.  On 
the  following  day  call  up  the  picture,  repro- 
ducing it  as  clearly  as  you  can,  and  then  com- 
pare the  original  object,  and  note  any  in- 
accuracies. Five  minutes  a  day  given  to  this 
is  one  of  the  best  investments  of  time  you  can 
make,  and  the  resulting  development  of  your 
powers  of  observation — and  consequently, 
of  your  memory — will  repay  you  many  times 
over.  Accurate  observation  gives  the  clear 
mental  impressions  which  are  so  essential  to 
good  memory. 

(4)  Frequent  repetition  of  an  impression 
is  the  method  which  is  perhaps  more  at  the 
command  of  the  individual  than  any  other. 
Every  mental  impression  cannot  be  new  or 
startling;  all  cannot  be  equally  interesting, 
and  certainly  every  impression  cannot  be  most 
recent.  We  can,  however,  repeat  ideas  to 
ourselves  as  much  as  we  wish.  Probably 
everyone  has  heard  the  old  saying,  "Repeti- 
tion is  the  mother  of  learning."  This  is 
only  another  way  of  saying  that  repetition 
is  the  mother  of  memory.  Facts  which  we 
find  dull  but  which  we  nevertheless  find  it 
necessary  to  remember,  can  be  retained  by 
this  method. 

(5)  The  only  way  we  can  keep  recent 
the  impressions  we  wish  to  retain  is  by  repe- 
tition. When  we  wish  to  memorize  poetry 
or  any  other  literary  matter  word  for  word, 
repetition  is  the  method  we  must  employ. 

15 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

Newly  learned  facts  are  retained  best 
when  no  new  mental  activity  follows  the 
period  of  acquisition.  The  new  memory  ma- 
terial must  figuratively  "settle  down,"  and  is 
apt  to  be  lost  if  it  is  stirred  up  by  other 
mental  engagements. 

Attention  and  Interest 

We  have  already  seen  that  in  order  to 
have  memory,  we  must  first  have  an  impres- 
sion. The  first  step  in  acquiring  an  impres- 
sion is  attention.  The  word  attention  comes 
from  two  Latin  words  meaning  to  stretch 
toward.  We  must  stretch  our  mind  toward 
the  fact  or  object  we  wish  to  remember.  If 
we  are  interested  in  the  fact,  or  object,  giv- 
ing attention  is  easy;  if  not,  it  is  more  diffi- 
cult, and  it  becomes  necessary  to  bring  our 
will-power  into  play  to  keep  the  attention 
centered,  or  else  find  something  to  which  the 
object  is  related,  that  we  are  interested  in. 
The  part  played  by  interest  in  the  mechanism 
of  memory  is  an  exceedingly  important  one. 
In  itself,  the  average  railroad  time-table  is  a 
rather  uninteresting  object,  but  when  one 
begins  to  plan  a  trip,  and  wants  to  know  the 
time  of  arrival  and  departure  of  trains,  that 
same  time-table  takes  on  a  very  decided  in- 
terest. If  one  is  interested  in  one's  work,  not 
only  is  it  easier  to  do  that  work  than  some- 
thing in  which  one  is  not  interested,  but  one 
will  be  more  successful  in  it  than  in  the  un-, 
interesting  work. 

16 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

A  cardinal  principle  to  be  observed  in  de- 
veloping the  power  or  habit  of  giving  atten- 
tion is  to  attend  to  only  one  thing  at  a  time. 
It  is  one  of  the  laws  of  mind  that  its  atten- 
tion can  be  directed  to  but  one  thing  at  a 
time.  Some  may  apparently  attend  to  two  or 
more  things  at  the  same  time,  but  ac- 
curate psychological  investigation  of  this  phe- 
nomenon has  shown  that  in  reality  the  mind 
is  rapidly  oscillating  from  one  object  of  at- 
tention to  another. 


17 


LESSON  III 

Concentration  and  Association 

The  word  concentrate  comes  from  the 
Latin,  and  means  literally  to  center  together. 
uIn  concentration,  the  consciousness  is  held  to 
a  single  image;  the  whole  attention  is  fixed 
on  a  single  point,  without  wavering  or 
swerving.  The  mind — which  runs  continually 
from  one  thing  to  another,  attracted  by  ex- 
ternal objects  and  shaping  itself  to  each  in 
quick  succession — is  checked,  held  in,  and 
forced  by  the  will  to  remain  in  one  form, 
shaped  to  one  image,  disregarding  all  other 
impressions  thrown  upon  it. 

uAt  the  beginning  of  concentration,  two 
difficulties  have  to  be  overcome.  First,  this 
disregard  of  the  impressions  continually 
being  thrown  on  the  mind.  The  mind  must 
be  prevented  from  answering  these  contacts, 
and  the  tendency  to  respond  to  these  outside 
impressions  must  be  resisted ;  but  this  necessi- 
tates the  partial  direction  of  the  attention  to 
respond  to  the  act  of  resisting,  and  when  the 
tendency  has  been  overcome,  the  resistance  it- 
self must  pass.  Perfect  balance  is  needed, 
neither  resistance  nor  non-resistance,  but  a 
steady  quietude  so  strong  that  impressions 
from  outside  will  not  produce  any  result,  not 

18 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

even  the  secondary  result  of  the  consciousness 
of  something  to  be  resisted. 

"Second,  the  mfnd  itself  must  hold  as  sole 
image,  for  the  time,  the  object  of  concentra- 
tion; it  must  not  only  refuse  to  modify  itself 
in  response  to  impacts  from  without,  but 
must  also  cease  its  own  inner  activity  where- 
with it  is  constantly  rearranging  its  contents, 
thinking  over  them,  establishing  new  rela- 
tions, discovering  hidden  likenesses  and  un- 
likenesses.  It  has  ndw  to  confine  its  attention 
to  a  single  object,  to  fix  itself  on  that.  It 
does  not,  of  course,  cease  its  activity,  but 
sends  it  all  along  a  single  channel.  Water 
flowing  over  a  surface  wide  in  comparison 
with  the  amount  of  water,  will  have  little 
motor  power.  The  same  water  sent  along  a 
narrow  channel,  with  the  same  initial  im- 
pulse, will  carry  away  an  obstacle.  Without 
adding  to  the  strength  of  the  mind,  the 
effective  strength  of  it  is  immensely  increased. 
Imposing  this  inner  stillness  on  the  mind  is 
even  more  difficult  than  the  ignoring  of  out- 
side impacts,  being  concerned  with  its  own 
deeper  and  fuller  life.  To  turn  the  back  on 
the  outside  world  is  easier  than  to  quiet  the 
inner,  for  this  inner  world  is  more  identified 
with  the  Self — that  part  of  our  being  which 
directs  the  activities  of  the  mind.  But  keep 
at  it  and  success  will  reward  your  efforts. 

"When  the  mind  loses  hold  of  its  object — 
as  it  will  do,  time  after  time — it  must  be 
brought    back,    and    again    directed    to    the 

19 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

object.  Often  at  first  it  will  wander  away 
without  the  wandering  being  noticed  and  the 
student  suddenly  awakens  to  the  fact  that  he 
is  thinking  about  something  quite  other  than 
the  proper  object  of  thought.  This  will 
happen  again  and  again,  and  he  must 
patiently  bring  it  back — a  wearisome  and 
trying  process,  but  there  is  no  other  way 
in  which  concentration  can  be  gained. 

"It  is  a  useful  and  instructive  mental  ex- 
ercise when  the  mind  has  thus  slipped  away 
without  notice,  to  take  it  back  again  by  the 
road  along  which  it  traveled  in  its  strayings. 
This  process  increases  the  control  of  the  rider 
over  his  runaway  steed,  and  thus  diminishes 
its  inclination  to  escape. 

"Consecutive  thinking,  though  a  step 
toward  concentration,  is  not  identical  with  it, 
for  in  consecutive  thinking  the  mind  passes 
from  one  to  another  of  a  sequence  of  images, 
and  is  not  fixed  on  one  alone.  But  as  it  is 
far  easier  than  concentration,  the  beginner 
may  use  it  to  lead  up  to  the  more  difficult 
task. 

"The  universal  complaint  which  comes 
from  those  who  are  beginning  to  practice 
concentration  is  that  the  very  attempt  to  con- 
centrate results  in  a  greater  restlessness  of  the 
mind.  To  some  extent  this  is  true,  for  the 
law  of  action  and  reaction  works  here  as 
everywhere,  and  the  pressure  put  on  the 
mind  causes  a  corresponding  reaction.  But 
while  admitting  this,  we  find  on  closer  study 

20 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

that  the  increased  restlessness  is  largely 
illusory.  The  feeling  of  such  increased  rest- 
lessness is  chiefly  due  to  the  opposition  sud- 
denly set  up  between  the  Self,  willing  steadi- 
ness, and  the  mind  in  its  normal  condition  of 
mobility.  The  Self  is  accustomed  to  being 
carried  about  by  the  mind  in  all  its  swift 
movements,  as  a  man  is  ever  being  carried 
through  space  by  the  whirling  earth.  He 
is  not  conscious  of  movement;  he  does  not 
know  that  the  world  is  moving,  so  thoroughly 
is  he  part  of  it,  moving  as  it  moves.  If  he 
were  able  to  separate  himself  from  the  earth 
and  stop  his  own  movement  without  being 
shivered  into  pieces,  only  then  would  he  be 
conscious  that  the  6arth  is  moving  at  a  high 
rate  of  speed.  So  long  as  a  man  is  yielding 
to  every  movement  of  the  mind,  he  does  not 
realize  its  continual  activity  and  restlessness, 
but  when  he  steadies  himself,  when  he  ceases 
to  move,  then  he  feels  the  ceaseless  motion 
of  the  mind  he  has  hitherto  obeyed. 

"If  the  beginner  knows  these  facts,  he  will 
not  be  discouraged  at  the  very  commence- 
ment of  his  efforts  by  meeting  with  this  uni- 
versal experience  but  will,  taking  it  for 
granted,  go  quietly  on  with  his  task. 

"When  a  man  concentrates  his  mind,  his 
body  puts  itself  into  a  state  of  tension,  and 
this  is  not  noticed  by  him,  is  involuntary  so 
far  as  he  is  concerned.  This  following  of  the 
mind  by  the  body  may  be  noticed  in  many 
things:  an  effort  to  remember  causes  a 
21 


m 


% 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

wrinkling  of  the  forehead,  fixing  of  the  eyes, 
and  drawing  down  of  the  brows;  anxiety  is 
accompanied  by  a  characteristic  expression. 
For  ages,  effort  of  the  mind  has  been  fol- 
lowed by  effort  of  the  body,  the  mind  being 
directed  entirely  toward  the  supply  of  bodily 
needs  by  bodily  exertions,  and  thus  a  connec- 
tion has  been  set  up  which  works  auto- 
matically. 

4 When  concentration  is  begun,  the  body, 
according  to  its  wont,  follows  the  mind  and 
the  muscles  become  rigid  and  the  nerves 
tense;  hence,  physical  fatigue,  muscular  and 
nervous  exhaustion  and  headache,  sometimes 
follow  in  the  wake  of  concentration,  and 
thus  people  are  led  to  give  it  up,  believing 
that  these  effects  are  inevitable. 

"As  a  matter  of  fact,  they  can  be  avoided 
by  a  simple  precaution.  The  beginner  should 
now  and  again  break  off  his  concentration 
sufficiently  to  notice  the  state  of  his  body, 
and  if  he  finds  it  strained,  tense,  or  rigid,  he 
should  at  once  relax  it;  when  this  has  been 
done  several  times,  the  connection  will  be 
broken,  and  the  body  will  remain  pliant  and 
resting  while  the  mind  is  concentrated. 

"Concentration  should  be  practiced  very 
sparingly  at  first,  and  should  never  be  carried 
to  the  point  of  brain  fatigue.  A  few  min- 
utes at  a  time  is  enough  for  a  beginning,  the 
time  being  lengthened  gradually  as  the  prac- 
tice goes  on.  But  however  short  the  time 
which  is  given,  it  should  be  given  regularly. 
22 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

Steady  and  regular,  but  not  prolonged  prac- 
tice ensures  the  best  results  and  avoids 
strain.''     (Besant.) 

Association 

The  word  associate  comes  from  the  Latin, 
and  means  to  unite  to.  Our  thoughts  or 
ideas  are  united  to  one  another. 

"Every  thought  involves  a  whole  system 
of  thoughts,  and  ceases  to  exist  if  severed 
from  its  various  correlatives.  As  we  cannot 
isolate  a  single  organ  of  a  living  body,  and 
deal  with  it  as  though  it  had  a  life  inde- 
pendent of  the  rest,  so,  from  the  organized 
structure  of  our  cognitions,  we  cannot  cut  out 
one  and  proceed  as  though  it  had  survived 
the  separation.  The  development  of  form- 
less protoplasm  into  an  embryo  is  a  specializa- 
tion of  parts,  the  distinctness  of  which  in- 
creases only  as  fast  as  their  combination  in- 
creases; each  becomes  a  distinguishable 
organ  only  on  condition  that  it  is  bound  up 
with  others,  which  have  simultaneously  be- 
come distinguishable  organs;  and  similarly, 
from  the  unformed  material  of  conscious- 
ness, a  developed  intelligence  can  arise  only 
by  a  process  which  in  making  thoughts  de- 
fined, also  makes  them  mutually  dependent — 
establishes  among  them  certain  vital  connec- 
tions, the  destruction  of  which  causes  instant 
death  of  the  thoughts."     (Spencer.) 

The  elementary  law  of  association  may  be 
stated  as  follows: 

23 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

When  two  ideas  have  been  present  in  the 
mind  together  or  in  immediate  succession, 
one  of  them,  on  recurring,  tends  to  revive 
the  other. 

While  from  the  standpoint  of  the  psycholo- 
gist, association  is  between  ideas,  from  a 
practical  standpoint  it  is  more  satisfactory  to 
speak  of  the  association  of  objects  or  of 
qualities. 

Association  may  be  divided  into  three 
general  classes: 

Association  by 

(i)    Inclusion,  or  similarity; 

(2)  Exclusion,  or  contrast; 

(3)  Concurrence,  or  coexistence. 

( 1 )  Under  the  head  of  inclusion  we  have 
the  following  relations: 

(a)  Whole  and  part   (ship,  rudder.) 

(b)  Genus  and  species  (animal,  dog.) 

(c)  Abstract  and  concrete  (cold,  ice.) 

(d)  Similarity  of  sound  (bell,  dell). 

(e)  Any  other  relation  in  which  there 
is  something  in  common  between 
two  objects  or  qualities. 

(2)  The  relation  of  exclusion  or  contrast 
is  one  of  the  strongest  and  most  powerful  of 
all  the  association  networks  in  consciousness. 
It  is  invariably  present,  and  tends  to  become 
predominant.  Things  may  be  unlike  in  (a) 
time,  (b)  relation,  (c)  space  relation,  or  in 
all  three.  When  anything  is  thought  of,  the 
opposite  state  of  mind  is  almost  conscious. 

24 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

The  idea  of  heat  has  no  meaning  from  the 
standpoint  of  consciousness  unless  there  has 
been  something  in  consciousness  that  is  not 
heat.  The  latent  consciousness  of  cold  is 
what  gives  the  meaning  to  the  consciousness 
of  heat.  Unless  both  have  been  experienced, 
either  one  means  nothing.  Pain  cannot  exist 
unless  there  has  been  pleasure:  the  mind 
could  not  be  aware  of  one  without  the  other. 
Such  fundamental  couplets  as  these  are  pres- 
ent in  all  consciousness,  and  it  is  only  be- 
cause things  are  unlike  that  we  are  con- 
scious at  all.  Every  idea  in  consciousness 
has  no  meaning  apart  from  its  exact  opposite  : 
unless  both  have  been  experienced,  either  one 
has  no  meaning. 

"The  very  conception  of  consciousness,  in 
whatever  mode  it  may  be  manifested,  neces- 
sarily implies  distinction  between  one  object 
and  another.  To  be  conscious  we  must  be 
conscious  of  something,  and  that  something 
can  only  be  known  as  that  which  it  is  by 
being  distinguished  from  that  which  it  is 
not  .  .  .  one  object  must  possess  some  form 
of  existence  which  the  other  has  not,  or  it 
must  not  possess  some  form  which  the  other 
has."     (Mansel.) 

(3)  The  relation  of  concurrence  is  be- 
tween things  which  occur  together  or  in 
sequence.  (Pipe,  tobacco;  lightning,  thun- 
der.) When  one  attribute  of  an  object  is 
thought  of,  all  other  attributes  of  the  object 
tend  to  follow  in  consciousness.     All  of  the 


25 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

experiences  which  have  been  received  at  the 
same  time  tend  to  return  in  consciousness 
when  one  of  that  series  is  brought  to  con- 
sciousness. For  example,  if  you  see  a  person 
you  have  not  seen  in  years,  it  brings  back 
memories  of  what  happened  on  the  day  the 
person  was  seen  years  ago.  This  law  is  one 
we  make  use  of  in  reviving  the  memories  of 
a  particular  day.  We  also  make  use  of  it 
in  deciding  whether  certain  memories  are 
real  or  invented. 

Association  by  concurrence  also  includes  the 
relation  of  cause  and  effect.  Certain  things 
cause  other  things.  In  the  ordinary  course 
of  events,  one  thing  produces  another:  effect 
follows  cause.  The  percepts  resulting  from 
our  observation  of  nature  are  received  in  a 
certain  definite  order.  If  the  relation  of 
cause  and  effect  is  observed,  when  the  cause 
comes  to  consciousness,  the  effect  comes 
to  consciousness.  Or,  when  the  relation  is 
well  established,  if  the  effect  is  seen,  the 
cause  is  thought  of.  In  this  connection,  how- 
ever, it  is  to  be  noted  that  science  deals  not 
with  ultimate  causes,  but  with  proximate 
causes,  based  on  sequence  relation.  Our  sys- 
tem of  education  weakens  the  cause  and  effect 
association.  The  average  adult  past  the  age 
of  twenty-five  or  thirty  seldom  thinks  of  cause 
and  effect. 


26 


LESSON  IV 

How  to  Remember  Names,  Faces  and 
Errands 

A  good  memory  for  names  and  faces  is 
a  valuable  asset  to  anyone  whose  business 
brings  him  in  contact  with  people.  The 
salesman  with  a  poor  memory  for  names  and 
faces  has  a  handicap  which  restricts  his  ad- 
vancement. Every  successful  politician  finds 
it  necessary  to  develop  this  faculty. 

To  remember  faces  you  must  observe  faces, 
compare  faces,  study  faces.  When  you  meet 
a  person  for  the  first  time,  one  or  two  glances 
at  his  face  will  not  be  sufficient  to  insure 
your  remembering  him — that  is,  unless  you 
have  a  well-developed  talent  along  this  line. 
When  a  young  man  meets  a  young  woman 
to  whom  he  at  once  takes  a  liking,  or  vice 
versa,  there  is  no  trouble  about  recognition 
at  the  second  meeting  of  the  two.  Why? 
He  is  interested  in  her,  or  she  in  him. 

Take  an  interest  in  the  face  of  every  per- 
son you  meet;  notice  the  nose,  the  eyes,  the 
eyebrows,  the  mouth,  the  chin,  the  ears,  the 
forehead,  the  color  of  the  skin,  and  any 
peculiarities  in  the  form  of  any  of  these  fea- 
tures. Remember  the  principle  that  a  clear 
first  impression  is  the  first  essential  of  mem- 
ory. 

27 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

The  same  holds  true  in  regard  to  names. 
Those  who  complain  that  they  have  a  poor 
memory  for  names  are  those  who  give  but 
little  attention  to  names.  When  introduced 
to  a  person  they  are  more  or  less  self-con- 
scious and  have  their  mind  on  saying  "I'm 
pleased  to  meet  you,"  or  some  similar  phrase, 
and  are  listening  to  what  the  stranger  says 
in  return  so  that  they  do  not  get  a  clear  first 
impression  of  the  name.  The  way  to  over- 
come this  difficulty  is  to  forget  yourself,  and 
concentrate  your  attention  on  the  stranger's 
face  and  name.  It  is  much  more  important 
that  you  get  a  clear  first  impression  of  his 
name  than  to  hear  the  words  he  uses  in 
acknowledging  the  introduction.  If  the  per- 
son making  the  introduction  does  not  pro- 
nounce the  name  clearly,  or  it  is  an  unusual 
name,  ask  him  or  the  stranger  to  repeat  it. 
It  is  better  that  the  owner  of  the  name 
should  repeat  it,  for  this  will  aid  you  in  asso- 
ciating his  face  and  his  name.  Then  you 
should  repeat  the  name  aloud  yourself — thus 
bringing  your  motor  memory  into  play. 

If  you  meet  several  persons  during  a  day 
or  evening,  it  is  an  excellent  plan,  before 
going  to  bed  at  night,  to  sit  down  and  go 
over  each  introduction,  recalling  the  sur- 
roundings, the  person  introduced,  his  appear- 
ance, and  his  name.  Write  each  name,  and 
speak  it  aloud,  at  the  same  time  trying  to 
form  a  mental  picture  of  the  person.  If 
you  will  do  this  faithfully,  you  will  soon  find 

28 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

your  memory  for  names  and  faces  greatly 
improved. 


Remembering  Errands 

Probably  everyone  knows  how  easy  it  is 
to  forget  to  mail  a  letter.  The  remedy  for 
this  is  as  follows:  When  starting  out  with 
the  letter,  impress  on  the  mind  that  the  letter 
is  to  be  put  in  a  street  mail-box,  and  that  the 
sight  of  a  mail-box  will  recall  the  mailing  of 
the  letter.  Then  by  developing  the  power  of 
observation,  you  will  not  fail  to  see  one  or 
more  mail-boxes  when  passing  along  the 
street,  and  seeing  the  mail-box  will  remind 
you  of  the  letter. 

If  one  has  a  number  of  errands  to  do,  it 
is  hardly  worth  while  to  attempt  to  remem- 
ber them  by  sheer  memory  effort,  for  it  is  not 
a  case  of  something  you  want  to  retain  in  the 
mind  permanently.  When  the  errands  have 
been  done,  the  necessity  for  further  mental 
effort  has  passed,  and  in  such  a  case  it  is 
much  more  rational  to  rely  on  a  written 
memorandum. 


29 


LESSON  V 

Numbers,  Dates,  Prices,  Etc. 

There  are  various  ways  of  remembering 
numbers,  dates,  prices,  and  other  figures,  but 
all  are  based  on  the  fundamental  laws  of  at- 
tention, interest,  concentration,  and  associa- 
tion. Some  persons  have  a  remarkable  mem- 
ory for  figures,  without  seeming  to  use  any 
special  method  or  exerting  any  particular 
effort.  Most  such  persons  are  strong 
visualizers  and  remember  by  what  might  be 
called  mental  photography  of  the  figures — 
they  form  strong  mental  images  of  the  num- 
bers and  retain  them  easily.  To  those  not 
thus  naturally  gifted,  more  conscious  effort 
is  necessary. 

The  volcano  of  Fujiyama,  Japan,  is  12,365 
feet  high.  By  observing  that  the  first  two 
and  last  three  figures  represent  respectively 
the  number  of  months  and  the  number  of 
days  in  a  year,  an  association  is  formed,  and 
the  number  is  not  forgotten.  Suppose  it  is 
desired  to  remember  the  number  1352;  note 
that  the  first  two  figures  represent  the  num- 
ber of  playing  cards  in  any  given  suit  (10 
spot  cards  plus  3  court  cards),  while  the 
last  two  represent  the  total  number  of  cards 
so 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

in  the  pack  (exclusive  of  the  joker).  Such 
coincidences,  of  course,  are  not  always  to  be 
discovered,  but  continued  practice  will  reveal 
them  more  frequently  than  might  be  sup- 
posed. 

If  a  reasonable  amount  of  thought  fails  to 
reveal  an  external  association  for  a  number, 
internal  relations  should  be  sought  for.  Thus, 
Pike's  Peak  is  14,147  feet  high:  note  the 
repetition  of  14  and  that  7  is  half  of  14. 
The  population  of  Providence  (R.  I.),  ac- 
cording to  the  1910  census,  is  224,326; 
2  times  2  are  4,  5  times  2  are  6.  Relations 
which  you  discover  for  yourself  will  be  more 
easily  remembered  than  those  discovered  by 
someone  else. 

You  should  adopt  the  method  of  retain- 
ing numbers  which  you  find  easiest.  If  either 
of  the  foregoing  methods  seem  difficult  after 
a  fair  trial,  the  visualizing  method  may  be 
tried.  Employing  the  instructions  given  in 
Lesson  2,  concentrate  the  attention  on  the 
number  and  form  as  clear  and  vivid  a  mental 
picture  of  it  as  possible. 

For  historical  dates,  an  excellent  plan  is 
always  to  think  of  the  event  and  the  date 
together,  so  as  to  establish  a  firm  association; 
thus,  the  battle  of  Waterloo  should  always 
be  thought  of  as  "Waterloo  18 15,"  the 
battle  of  Hastings  as  "Hastings  1066,"  and 
so  on.  The  "Declaration  of  Independence" 
should  never  be  thought  of  without  thinking 
also,  "1776."   If  numbers  are  connected  with 

31 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

events  in  this  way,  the  association  will  be  as 
easy  to  recall  as  the  association  between 
George  and  Washington,  or  between  Abra- 
ham and  Lincoln. 

If  you  have  a  naturally  good  memory  for 
words,  but  a  poor  memory  for  figures,  you 
can  use  to  advantage  the  figure-alphabet,  by 
means  of  which  ordinary  English  words  are 
made  to  stand  for  numbers.  This  is  done  by 
assigning  a  figure  value  to  each  consonant 
sound.  As  a  number  of  the  consonants  are 
similar  in  sound,  these  are  grouped  together, 
so  that  the  number  of  distinctly  different  con- 
sonant sounds  is  reduced  to  ten — one  for  each 
of  the  ten  digits.  The  vowels  a,  e,  i,  o,  u,  the 
"sometimes  vowels"  w  and  y,  and  all  silent 
letters  are  entirely  disregarded  and  are  not 
given  figure  values. 

The  first  step  in  mastering  this  system  is 
to  memorize  one  consonant  for  each  figure. 
This  is  not  difficult  if  the  following  associa- 
tions are  used: 

i  is  T  because  T  has  i  down  stroke. 

2  is  N  because  N  has  2  down  strokes. 

3  is  M  because  M  has  3  down  strokes. 

4  is  R  because  R  is  the  last  letter  in  the 

word  four. 

5  is  L  because  in  Roman  notation  L  stands 

for    50;    disregarding   the    o,    we 
have  5. 

6  is  J  because  J  is  6  reversed. 

7  is  K  because  K  follows  J  in  the  alphabet. 

32 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

8  is  F  because  the  script  small  letter  f  has 

two  loops,  like  8. 

9  is  P  because  P  is  9  reversed. 

0  is  Z  because  Z  is  the  first  letter  of  the 

word  zero. 

These  ten  substitutions  can  be  learned  in 
one  sitting.  Having  learned  them,  the  next 
step  is  to  learn  the  additional  consonants 
which  are  grouped  with  some  of  those 
already  learned. 

Below  is  given  the  complete  figure  alphabet 
with  a  key  sentence  for  use  in  remembering 
the  several  letters  which  represent  each  of 
several  figures: 

1  is  t,  th  or  d. 

Tom  THum  Died. 

2  is  n  only. 

3  is  m  only. 

4  is  r  only. 

5  is  1  only. 

6  is  j,  sh,  ch  or  soft  g. 

Jew  SJF/all  CHoost  Gentile. 

7  is  k,  hard  c,  hard  g,  or  q. 

Xings  Can  Get  Queens. 

8  is  f  or  v. 

Full  Falue. 

9  is  p  or  b. 

Playtfall! 
o  is  z,  soft  c,  or  s. 

Zinc  Certainly  Sinks. 


3* 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

It  is  of  prime  importance  to  keep  in  mind 
the  fact  that  the  translation  from  letters  to 
figures  or  vice  versa  is  always  made  by  sound. 
Thus  sugar  is  674,  not  074;  Asia  is  6,  not  o; 
ratio  is  46,  not  41. 

The  letter  h  has  no  figure  value  alone.  It 
is  considered  only  in  the  combinations  th  ( 1 ) , 
sh  (6),  and  ch  (6).  At  all  other  times  it  is 
disregarded  and  treated  as  a  silent  letter 
(which  it  sometimes  actually  is) .  Ph  with  the 
sound  of  /  is  translated  8,  in  accordance  with 
the  rule  that  translation  is  always  made  by 
sound.  The  ending  ing  is  regarded  as  a  unit, 
and  is  always  translated  7,  not  27.  Thus, 
dancing  is  1207,  king  is  77. 

Double  consonants  are  translated  as  if 
single;  appeal  is  95  (bill  is  also  95)  ;  witness 
is  120;  miller  is  354. 

All  words  can  be  translated  into  numbers, 
but  there  are  some  numbers  of  3  or  more 
figures  for  which  there  are  no  equivalent 
English  words.  This  apparent  difficulty  is 
easily  gotten  around  by  breaking  large  num- 
bers up  into  groups  of  two  or  three  figures. 
Thus,  1574  is  "dull  care";  65004  is  "jolly 
Cicero";  21868  is  "native  chef." 


34 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 


Following 

is  an  equivalent  word  for  each 

number  from 

1  to  100: 

i  hat 

27  yankee 

53  lamb 

2  hen 

28  navy 

54  lawyer 

3  haymow 

29  nap 

55  l^y 

4  weary 

30  mouse 

56  lodge 

5  ^y 

31  meadow 

57  lake 

6  hatch 

32  mine 

58  olive 

7  egg 

33  mummy 

59  lip 

8  hive 

34  hammer 

60  chess 

9  bee 

35  mail 

61   shed 

io  daisy 

36  image 

62  chain 

ii  deed 

37  hammock 

63  gem 

12  twine 

38  muff 

64  chair 

13  dime 

39  maP 

65  jelly 

14  waiter 

40  rose 

66  judge 

15  hotel 

41   road 

67  joke 

16  dish 

42  rain 

68  chief 

17  dog 

43  room 

69  ship 

18  thief 

44  rear 

70  case 

19  depot 

45  rule 

71   coat 

20  noise 

46  arch 

72  queen 

21   night 

47  ™g 

73  game 

22  noon 

48  reef 

74  car 

23  enemy 

49  robe 

75  eagle 

24  Nero 

50  lace 

76  cage 

25   inhale 

51   lady 

77  keg 

26  enjoy 

52  lion 

78  cave 

35 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 


79  cowboy 

87   fog 

95  bill 

80  face 

88   fife 

96  page 

81   fit 

89  fob 

97  book 

82  fan 

90  base 

98  puff 

83   foam 

91   boat 

99  PPe 

84  fire 

92  pen 

100  disease 

85  flee 

93  beam 

86  fish  94  bar 

To  find  a  word  or  words  which  will  trans- 
late any  given  number,  set  down  the  figures 
with  some  space  between,  and  under  each  one 
the  consonants  which  represent  it,  thus: 

51470 
L  T  R  K  Z 

D  hard  C     soft  C 

TH  hard  G        S 

Q 

Having  the  consonants  in  place,  vowels  to 
form  words  are  easily  filled  in.  In  the  above 
example,  several  words  can  be  made :  LOAD 
ROCKS  is  one  possibility. 

Whenever  possible,  words  should  be  found 
which  can  be  associated  in  some  way  with 
the  fact  with  which  the  number  is  connected. 

Another  plan  of  translation  is  to  make  up 
a  sentence  of  as  many  words  as  there  are 
figures,  and  assign  a  figure  value  only  to  the 
first  consonant  sound  in  each  word.  The 
Mississippi  River  is  4382  miles  long:  River 
Mississippi  Fery  IVandering. 

36 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

On  first  reading,  some  may  think  that  the 
figure  alphabet  is  a  remedy  worse  than  the 
disease;  but  if  your  word-memory  is  good, 
and  your  figure-memory  poor,  it  will  pay  you 
to  spend  the  time  necessary  to  master  it.  Care- 
ful study  and  frequent  practise  with  the 
method  will  make  you  so  familiar  with  it  that 
its  use  will  be  easy. 


37 


LESSON  VI 

Verbatim  Memorization  of  Poetry  and 

Prose,  Remembering  Contents  of 

Books  and  Articles 

The  method  of  memorizing  poetry  and 
prose  which  is  about  to  be  described  is  such 
a  radical  departure  from  the  time-honored 
methods  that  many  on  first  making  its  ac- 
quaintance are  inclined  to  be  skeptical. 
Actual  experience  with  the  method,  however, 
usually  converts  such  persons  into  enthusiastic 
advocates. 

The  method  is  so  simple  that  it  can  be 
stated  in  a  very  brief  space.  It  consists  in 
reading  aloud  the  entire  poem  or  selection, 
starting  at  the  beginning  and  reading  through 
to  the  end,  keeping  the  attention  on  the  sub- 
ject-matter, and  fully  understanding  the  mean- 
ing of  each  word  and  sentence.  Having 
completed  one  reading  aloud,  start  at  the  be- 
ginning and  read  aloud  to  the  end  again. 
Repeat  again,  reading  aloud  as  before,  mak- 
ing three  times  in  all.  Read  the  poem  or 
selection  aloud  three  times,  twice  a  day  at 
intervals  of  at  least  six  hours.  A  convenient 
way  is  to  do  it  the  first  thing  in  the  morning, 
and  again  at  night.  In  a  few  days  you  will 
find  that  you  can  begin  to  repeat  parts  of  the 
selection  without  looking  at  it.     Encourage 

38 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

yourself  in  doing  this,  but  not  until  you  are 
sure  of  saying  it  right  while  not  looking.  In 
from  ten  to  twenty  days  you  will  know 
the  selection  perfectly,  and  will  be  able  to 
repeat  it  without  hesitancy.  Furthermore, 
after  the  occasion  for  its  use  is  past,  it  will 
not  be  forgotten  in  a  few  weeks,  as  is  the 
case  with  matter  learned  in  the  old  way. 
With  an  occasional  repetition,  you  can  retain 
it  for  years.  The  author  of  these  lessons 
can  still  repeat  passages  from  Shakespeare 
learned  by  this  method  more  than  ten  years 
ago. 

To  insure  success,  it  is  only  necessary  to 
observe  the  following  three  simple  rules: 

(i)   Always  read  aloud. 

(2)  Read  through  from  beginning  to  end 
each  time.  It  matters  not  whether  the  selec- 
tion is  one  you  can  read  (aloud)  in  three 
minutes,  or  whether  it  takes  an  hour;  the 
rule  is  to  be  followed  just  the  same. 

(3)  Don't  let  the  mind  wander.  Keep 
it  on  the  subject-matter  of  the  selection. 

The  time  required  for  learning  varies  withl^jp 
the  individual,  with  the  degree  of  concentra- 
tion,  and  with  the  nature  of  the  selection. 
Rhythmic  poetry  is  more  quickly  learned  than 
prose.     If  it  is  necessary  to  learn  something 
within  a  week,  this  can  be  done  if  the  selection 
is  short,  by  reading  aloud  four  times  at  each 
sitting  instead  of  three,  and  doing  it  three   ^ 
times  a  day  instead  of  twice. 
39 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

Remembering  Contents  of  Books  and 
Articles 

If  you  are  to  remember  what  you  read,  the 
fundamental  principles  of  attention,  interest, 
concentration,  and  association  must  be  brought 
into  play.  If  you  want  to  master  the  con- 
tents of  a  book  or  magazine  article  with 
accuracy,  it  is  best  to  make  a  written  abstract 
(or  concise  summary)  of  it.  A  chapter  can 
usually  be  summed  up  in  a  paragraph;  a 
paragraph  (of  the  book)  in  a  sentence. 
Read  over  your  abstract  carefully  from  time 
to  time  so  that  the  knowledge  will  become 
a  part  of  your  mental  organization. 

Conclusion 

Memory  being  a  function  of  the  mind,  a 
sound  memory  goes  with  a  sound  mind  and 
a  sound  body.  The  habitual  use  of  alcohol 
or  drugs  is  incompatible  with  a  dependable 
memory.  Good  memory  work  cannot  be 
done  when  there  is  great  mental  or  bodily 
fatigue,  and  it  should  not  be  attempted  at 
such  times. 

"The  secret  of  a  good  memory  is  the 
secret  of  forming  diverse  and  multiple  asso- 
ciations with  every  fact  we  care  to  retain. 
.  .  .  What  is  this  but  thinking  about  the 
fact  as  much  as  possible?  The  man  who 
thinks  over  his  experiences  most  and  weaves 

40 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

them  into  the  most  systematic  relations  with 
each  other  will  be  the  one  with  the  best 
memory. 

"The  art  of  remembering  is  the  art  of 
thinking.  Our  conscious  effort  to  remember 
a  fact  should  not  be  directed  at  impressing 
and  retaining  it,  but  at  connecting  it  with 
something  already  known.  The  connecting  is 
the  thinking,  and  if  we  attend  clearly  to  the 
connection,  the  connected  thing  will  certainly 
be  likely  to  remain  within  call."  (William 
James.) 

These  lessons  contain  no  magic  power. 
One  reading  of  them  will  not  give  you  a  per- 
fect memory.  They  show  you  how  you  can 
improve  your  memory  provided  you  put  the 
principles  into  practice:  do  this,  and  as  surely 
as  effect  follows  cause,  your  memory  will  be 
improved. 


41 


HOW  TO  STUDY  EFFECTIVELY 

In  order  to  study  or  do  any  other  form  of 
mental  work  effectively,  you  must  be  in  good 
physical  condition.  It  is  true  that  the  mind 
has  a  certain  influence  over  the  body,  but  in 
accordance  with  the  law  of  action  and  reac- 
tion, it  is  equally  true  that  the  body  has  an 
influence  on  the  mind. 

Look  first,  therefore,  to  your  health.  If 
you  have  physical  defects  such  as  decaying 
teeth,  defective  eyesight,  obstructed  nasal 
breathing,  or  any  other  trouble  which  inter- 
feres with  clear  mental  action,  have  it  attended 
to  by  a  competent  physician.  Adopt  rational 
and  normal  ways  of  eating,  sleeping,  working, 
playing,  and  resting.  In  seeking  guidance  on 
these  things,  beware  of  the  diet  cranks,  food 
faddists  and  extremists  of  all  kinds.  Their 
number  is  legion.  Pin  your  faith  to  those  who 
are  accepted  as  leaders  by  the  majority  of 
rational  men;  whose  teachings  are  based  on 
real  science  and  not  on  pseudo-science.  "How 
to  Live,"  by  Fisher  and  Fisk,  and  "Personal 
Hygiene,"  by  Pyle,  are  two  books  either  of 
which  is  a  safe  guide  to  the  hygiene  of  mind 
and  body. 

The  whole  man,  however,  is  more  than 
mind  and  body.  He  is  also  spirit,  and  spirit 
must  not  be  ignored.  If  you  have  been  ignor- 
ing spirit,  you  should  by  all  means  read  "In 

42 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

Tune  with  the  Infinite,"  by  Trine,  and  "The 
Life  of  Reality,"  by  Randall. 

In  order  to  study  effectively,  you  must  pro- 
vide certain  external  conditions  which  are 
favorable  to  this  work.  A  quiet  place,  a  tem- 
perature of  68°  to  700  F.  with  sufficient  mois- 
ture in  the  air,  good  light,  a  comfortable  chair, 
a  desk  or  table  of  suitable  height — all  these 
things  contribute  to  effective  study.  When 
you  begin  a  period  of  study,  take  on  the  atti- 
tude of  attention,  and  concentrate  your  mind 
on  your  work. 

Study  with  the  intent  to  learn  and  to  re- 
member permanently.  It  has  been  found  that 
the  intent  which  accompanies  the  learning  pro- 
cess affects  the  length  of  time  of  retention.  It 
is  well  known  that  material  crammed  before 
an  examination  is  forgotten  soon  afterward. 
There  are  two  reasons  for  this :  first,  the  facts 
are  taken  into  the  mind  accompanied  by  the 
feeling  that  if  they  are  retained  until  the  ex- 
amination is  over,  that  is  sufficient;  and  sec- 
ond, permanent  memory  depends  on  the  laws 
of  association,  and  when  facts  are  crammed 
rapidly,  there  is  not  sufficient  time  to  form 
associations. 

Don't  study  under  the  delusion  that  you 
are  doing  it  for  the  teacher.  You  are  doing 
it  for  your  own  advancement.  Have  a  mo- 
tive, or  several  motives.  These  may  be  a 
recognition  of  the  future  value  of  the  subject, 
a  desire  to  excel  or  to  win  approval;  it  may 
even  be  a  desire  to  get  your  money's  worth  out 
43 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

of  what  you  are  paying  for.  The  stronger  the 
incentive,  the  better  work  you  will  do. 

Before  beginning  to  study  advance  work, 
review  the  previous  lesson.  When  studying 
new  material,  put  the  most  time  and  thought 
to  the  points  you  find  hardest  to  grasp.  All 
mental  impressions  fade  with  time:  in  view 
of  this  fact,  the  learning  of  important  parts 
of  your  lessons  must  be  carried  beyond  the 
point  necessary  for  immediate  recall.  If  you 
have  difficulty  in  accurately  recalling  a  fact 
or  a  group  of  facts  immediately  after  you 
have  been  studying  them,  you  may  be  sure 
that  you  have  not  learned  them  well  enough 
to  recall  them  at  some  time  in  the  future. 
Things  that  are  important  and  that  you  want 
to  be  sure  of  retaining  for  future  use  you 
should  learn  so  well  that  on  trying  to  recall 
them  immediately  afterward  you  can  do  so 
easily,  accurately,  and  without  hesitancy. 

Keeping  in  mind  the  principle  that  newly 
learned  facts  are  retained  best  when  no  new 
mental  activity  follows  the  period  of  acquisi- 
tion, take  periods  of  rest  at  intervals,  espe- 
cially after  learning  something  the  future 
value  of  which  you  recognize. 

Think  over  your  study  work.  Talk  about 
it*  If  you  think  you  might  bore  your  friends 
or  members  of  your  family  by  telling  what 
you  learn  to  them,  tell  it  to  an  imaginary 
listener,  in  the  quiet  of  your  room  with  the 
door  closed.  Draw  pictures  or  diagrams  of 
anything  that  can  be  thus  represented.    Work 

44 


FUNDAMENTALS  OF  MEMORY  DEVELOPMENT 

out  for  yourself  specific  examples  of  all  gen- 
eral rules  and  principles.  When  the  subject- 
matter  of  your  study  is  complex,  make  a  writ- 
ten outline  of  it.  Learn  definitions  thoroughly, 
and  be  sure  that  you  understand  them.  Avoid 
an  attitude  of  mere  acquisition :  think  of  your 
brain  not  as  a  receptacle  into  which  something 
is  poured,  but  as  an  interlacing  of  multitudi- 
nous fibers,  with  infinite  possibilities  of  inter- 
connection which  no  one  ever  exhausts.  Seek 
other  relations  between  facts  than  those  given 
in  the  books  you  study. 

The  runner,  nearing  the  point  at  which  it 
seems  that  he  can  run  no  longer,  gets  a  "sec- 
ond wind,"  and  is  able  to  finish  the  race. 
Similarly  the  brain  worker,  if  mental  applica- 
tion be  pushed  past  the  first  feeling  of  fatigue, 
gets  a  mental  second  wind :  he  taps  new  levels 
of  energy  which  enable  him  to  continue  study 
with  renewed  vigor.  This  does  not  mean  that 
rest  is  never  needed,  but  it  does  mean  that  one 
need  not  stop  work  at  the  first  feeling  of 
fatigue. 

Finally,  and  perhaps  most  important  of  all, 
make  practical  application  of  your  knowledge 
as  soon  as  possible,  and  as  often  as  possible. 
Using  or  expressing  knowledge  fixes  it  in  the 
mind  and  gives  a  feeling  of  mastery  which 
contributes  to  the  self-confidence  that  plays 
such  a  large  part  in  success. 


45 


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